With all the big-screen adaptations we’ve been seeing lately – the front-runners being Assassin’s Creed and Splinter Cell – is it only a matter of time before we Call of Duty on the big screen? Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg doesn’t think so, and has no such desire to have games be more like movies or to even turn them into full-blown movies.
Speaking to EDGE, Hirshberg stated, “However, I think there’s something to do with allowing different media to do what each media does well. When I think of games as an art form, they start with being transportive. Because they’re interactive, because you are more involved in the experience than in any other form of entertainment, it all starts with being transported.
“And obviously a natural place to want to transport people is into an experience they can’t have in their everyday lives. Sometimes that’s driving a fast car, sometimes that’s being a professional athlete, sometimes that’s being a rock star, sometimes that’s being a hero or going into a fantastical future
“I think this is inherently what games do best and so I’d expect that to be the basis of games for a long time to come. I don’t know if romantic comedy fits that model. I think that’s something that movies and TV do well. There’s this strange desire to morph games into movies or have them behave more like movies; I don’t share that desire. Games are wonderful as they are and do different things better than other forms of media.”
Ironically enough, the Call of Duty series has been under criticism for some time for its emphasis on being more like a blockbuster movie than an actual game. Look no further than the inclusion of numerous set-pieces and homages to action movies within the series for the same. Is it the same as being a movie? Not quite, but is interesting to hear Hirshberg talk about games being “transportive”.